We’ve talked plenty about Marc Bergevin and Michel Therrien this season (and rightfully so), but it’s time to give them one edition of The Forum off and turn our full attention to the guys on the ice.

So,  we asked our panelists which five Habs players they think affected the team the most this season (positively or negatively) and why?

Zach (@ZachDropsTweets) – Carey Price: His injury defined and destroyed the season. I’m not sure an absence has ever been felt harder by any team in NHL history.

Mike Condon: He could have been the feel good story of the year. Instead he – understandably – crumbled under enormous weight. The Canadiens needed someone to give them at least something between the pipes during the crushing December from hell. It was then that Condon was at his worst and you could feel the season slipping away as first period softies slipped passed him.

PK Subban: The only player who seemed to be able to keep it going when things were at their worst. Can’t imagine what this season would have looked like without him. Oh wait, yes I can, we’ve been watching it for a week-plus and it’s very bad.

Alex Galchenyuk: The only reason to keep watching the Canadiens this season. But he did make it worth it. Once this season is properly in our rear-view mirror we may at least be able to say this was the season in which we finally found our franchise centre.That’s a very silver-lining on an extremely dark cloud.

Max Pacioretty: His first season as the captain was an epic failure. Now, it should be mentioned that the test given to him was difficult, but man did he fail to rise to the occasion. I mentioned it on the podcast, and I’ll reiterate here: Despite the terrible season the team had, other Habs pillars like Subban, Gallagher and Galchenyuk all still managed to turn in acceptable seasons. Pacioretty did not. The captain certainly earned his money this year, and that might be the first time that’s ever been said in a non-complimentary fashion.

Kyle (@kyleroussel) – This is going to be a tricky one that can go any way.

I’ll go way off the board and say that the lack of Carey Price had the largest effect on the Habs season. You can’t go from best-on-earth goaltending to worst in the league and remain competitive. You can go from best, to average, or maybe even just below average and hang in there, but Condon and Scrivens were so bad that the Habs didn’t even have a chance on most nights.

A prolonged absence from Brendan Gallagher really hurt. He’s the straw that stirs the drink up front and the Habs seemed very flat without him, until Galchenyuk went nuts, that is. But by then it was far too little, far, far too late.

The aforementioned Alex Galchenyuk. It took way longer than it needed to, but once he returned to centre a few weeks ago, he grabbed the bull by the horns by scoring a billion goals in 3 games or whatever it was. He should never leave that position again and the conversation should shift to the other 3 main centres – Plekanec, Eller, and Desharnais – who stays and who goes? It’s clear as day that the Habs aren’t good enough down the middle to compete with the heavyweight contenders of the league.

PK Subban. He’s the guy that drives the Habs offense. If that wasn’t clear from the numbers (not only was he leading the team in scoring at the time of his neck injury, but he was on the ice for more than 60% of the Habs goals), then the horrifying numbers since leaving the lineup ought to have erased all doubt. The Habs are dreadful in all facets without him. The defense is laughable, and they can’t sustain any offensive pressure, never mind score a goal.

Tomas Plekanec / David Desharnais. Yeah, I squeezed two names in to the last slot. One of these guys (if not both) need to be elsewhere when the puck drops in game 1 of the 16-17 season. Sure, Plekanec’s points-per-game pace was fine. But he road the coattails of a great 20 first games, and then completely disappeared for more than 30 games (in terms of production) while the team slid to oblivion. Sorry, that can’t happen. Unacceptable for a team’s top centre. As for Desharnais, he is what he is. I have no ill will towards him, but if Therrien is going to remain in place as Habs coach (not convinced of that), then Bergevin has to take his favorite toy away. DD gets too much ice time and too many cherry powerplay minutes vs his production.

Honorable mentions to Pacioretty and Markov. The “leaders” on this team failed miserably when the going got tough. Subban was the only one who looked like he cared on a daily basis. The others seemed indifferent most of the time. I’d be shocked if this 4-man leadership core was still together to start next season.

Antoine (@HabsolutleTruth) – Alex Galchenyuk (positive): Our most promising forward finally forced the coaching staff’s hand to give him the minutes he’s deserved for a while now. This was long overdue considering that on many nights this season Galchenyuk was our biggest threat up front, yet was limited to playing 15-16 minutes a game no matter what. If #27 can become a a 60-point scorer with the potential to score 30 goals, our search for for that famous number one centre we’ve been seeking for so long can be put on hold.

Sven Andrighetto (positive): I’ll admit I’ve never been the biggest fan of Sven, but he’s grown on me this year and I believe he’s proven that he’s good enough to be used in a top 9 role in the NHL. Considering how offensively inept most of our bottom six is, having a guy like him who could contribute 15 goals and 30-something points would be great depth as far as secondary scoring goes.

PK Subban (neutral): Subban has probably been our best player this season, along with Chucky, but that being said, there have been instances where him trying to do too much has got the team in trouble. I understand that he’s passionate about hockey and a very emotional individual who hates losing, but I didn’t like him throwing Pierre Gervais under the bus for his recent incidents involving his skates and him falling in very inopportune times. I think Subban’s defensive game has been pretty inconsistent, he played solid in the first half in his own end but since the start of 2016, his play in his own end has been subpar. I don’t care if PK doesn’t score 15  goals like he’s done in the past, as long as he plays a solid two-way game and generates offense, I’ve got no problem with him.

Max Pacioretty (negative): I wasn’t a fan of naming him captain, but understood the logic behind it (says the right things and is less flamboyant than Subban), but I don’t think he’s the right fit as captain of the team. He has rarely shown the intensity you want from your leader on the ice and I don’t think that he has the personality to thrive as captain in a market like Montreal. Some individuals just don’t cut it as captain because they’re too nonchalant about losing or they don’t elevate their game when their backs are against the wall. I think Pacioretty is a lot like Patrick Marleau in that sense. I’ve read Jeremy Roenick’s book and the things that most people have against Max as captain are the same things that Roenick as a teammate had against Marleau back when he was on the Sharks.

Regarding his play on the ice, his injury this off-season has obviously affected him. He doesn’t have the same jump that he normally has. The pressure of being captain and the monumental collapse this team has suffered since Price’s injury certainly hasn’t helped Patches this season. I don’t think this season has been a bad one for him in terms of production; he’s most likely to finish with 60 points, which is pretty good in today’s NHL. It will be interesting to see if the management decide to do something with the C & Patches. Personally, I don’t think they will based on the fact that this team is the MONTREAL CANADIENS and not some team on a smaller market. The team has too much history and I think the management is too stubborn to change their mind on such a prestigious title, especially with the fact that they took two full seasons to name a captain and make sure they were making the right choice.

Tomas Plekanec (negative): I think it’s time to move on regarding Plekanec. He’s not a bad player by any means, and I think he’s gotten some unwarranted flack from the fans over the years but Plekanec has been too inconsistent in the playoffs and this season he’s gone MIA too many times. In a season like this one you need your vets to step up and Plekanec only did that for a small stretch. His production since signing his contract extension has dropped in a massive way and I think for the sake of both parties, a change in scenery could do some good for both the Habs and Plekanec. With the emergence of Galchenyuk at centre. I think now is the time to trade Plekanec.

Ian (@ihabs1995) – Alex Galchenyuk: This one’s a no-brainer. The guy has been the most consistent forward all year and is really budding into that number-one center we all want him to be. Not only has he been scoring, but he’s been a delight to watch. Alex has been one of the few bright spots this season. It looks like he’s finally taken that next step in his development, and he’s ready for big minutes in the NHL.

Lars Eller: Maybe not a negative influence on the team, but he certainly has underperformed for too long. On top of that, the end of the season will mark Eller’s sixth season with the team, and I still have no idea what kind of player he is. Is he a bottom-six defensive forward? He can’t be. I’m told every other game how great he is in the offensive zone. The coach has tried to play him in just about every forward position, but none of them worked long term. I just don’t see it. He doesn’t pass the eye-test for me, and his cap number has a negative impact on the team relative to his production. (There, I was able to make it relevant again.)

Andrei Markov: Watching The General play this season has been tough. You can tell just by watching him that his mind is still ripe for the game. He thinks of all the right plays and you can see him try to put them into action, but time has caught up to him. Markov has made several costly turnovers at the worst possible moments, and it seems as though he’s a liability on the ice more often than not. Maybe a summer off can rejuvenate him, but it looks like the best is behind him at this point.

PK Subban: Blah blah blah turnovers blah blah blah. Look, the guy was hands down the best player on the ice for the Canadiens all season. Not just the best defenseman, the best player. Period. Without Carey Price in net, Subban is the team’s MVP. I’m not really sure what it would take for people to realize that.

Mark Barberio: A strange free agent signing from the summer, Mark Barberio didn’t start the season with the big club. As one of the best defenders in the AHL, Barberio earned a roster spot on the Canadiens and performed admirably in his role as a bottom-six defenseman. The Canadiens’ defensive lines need to be shaken up and made cheaper, and Barberio’s efforts this season have a positive impact on this goal. Guys like Barberio that are making near league minimum have put pressure on management to part ways with the expensive guys that are underperforming (Emelin, and maybe even Markov). Under the radar, Barberio’s season should not be overlooked if the team tries to cut some of the fat on the blue line this summer.

Antoine (@HabsolutleTruth) – I can somewhat agree on Eller’s salary being too much for what he brings to the table (third line centre who is good in his own end and chips 30-35 points). That being said Therrien has hardly put Eller in a role he’s comfortable in. Eller has played his best hockey of the season at centre on the third line. Yet for some reason, the last few games he’s been on the wing where he’s not productive and his game isn’t as good. It makes zero sense.

With how our bottom six is built, and based on what we have as our top six, I wouldn’t be willing to let go of Eller just for the sake of it. We need the most secondary scoring we can get and Eller is one of our safest option as far as that goes. A 15-goal scorer is still a decent tool to have on your third line in today’s NHL. At the end of the day, I think Eller is paid like most players of his caliber are paid. I don’t think he would be very easy to replace. A lot of people were adamant about trading him last year and replacing him with JDLR (or Danault next year), but if we do that, who the hell is going to score goals on our third and fourth line?

As for Markov, with his off-ice issues being revealed on social media in the last few weeks, I’d cut the guy some slack. Yes, he had a very brutal month of December and January, but aside from that stretch he’s been playing solid hockey. If we want to be contenders next season, replacing Markov with Beaulieu or Barberio (hell no) isn’t the way to go at all.

Kyle (@kyleroussel) – I think Eller is a victim of his own versatility. He can easily slide over to wing and still look good. Not as good as when he’s at C with decent wingers, mind you, but he’s alright on the wing. Problem is salary. Maybe I’m off, but I think his bang-for-buck is very very low, and you can’t have that on the 3rd line. Eller’s really valuable as a shut down C with size and skill who might produce more if the 3rd line was seen as more of an exploitation line rather than a minute-eating defensive specialist line. So what to do? Given that (IMO) the Habs are weak at C, there needs to be a major shakeup. Galchenyuk as 1-2 next year. Another 1-2 C via trade or UFA. Eller at 3C. Move DD and Plekanec. There. I talked myself in to it.

Antoine (@HabsolutleTruth) – You do make a fair point that Eller might be a victim of his own versatility, but I don’t agree wthat the Habs are hardly getting bang-for-buck with him. He might be overpaid if you look at his production compared to others on the team, but Eller is getting what third line centres around the league are now getting. Look at Berglund (3.7M), Eakin (3.85M), Kruger (3.083M), Sutter (4.375M). Eller’s cap is fair for what he brings.

Now, you do make an interesting point about what approach Montreal should have going forward with their third line. I don’t think you can have an exploitation line if you trade Plekanec. Galchenyuk isn’t good enough defensively to be matched against opposing team’s top lines. Trading Plekanec would make the third line a checking one by default. If we are going to go that road, I’d like Eller centering that line for sure. As I’ve previously mentioned, a player who can take those defensive tasks and provide 12-15 goals and 30 points is a huge bonus.

The problem with the coaching staff is that they have to be CLEAR with Lars as to what they want from him. They can’t keep changing his role and juggling him in the line-up/changing his position. They have to stick with one option and let the man play his game.